Brassiere



.J. c. WEST BRAssIERE Filed June 1; 19%

J2 we] Carmen Wesi Patented Feb. 17, 1931 UNITED STATES JEWEL CARMENWEST, 015 LOS ANGELES,.CALIFOBNIA' BBASSIERE Application filed June 1,1928. Serial No. 112,786.

This invention relates to a brassiere, and the general object of theinvention is to provide a construction for a brassiere which will becomfortable when worn and which is so constructed as to enable it to bereadily worn with a low-neck gown.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a construction whichwill be devoid of a connection with the waist band at the front, therebyavoidin discomfort from a pulling effect over the s oulders which sometimes is present in brassieres.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved constructionfor the girdle of the brassiere which will enable it to be given shapefrom a few pieces of material and in a simple manner.

Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel arts and combination of parts to bedescribed ereinafter, all of which contribute to produce an efficienthrassiere.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the followingspecification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective illustratin the appearance of the brassierefrom the ront, when being worn.

Figure 2 is a perspective showing the'brassiere from the rear.

Figure 3 isa perspective showing a side view of the brassire.

Figure 4 is a plan illustrating a portion or piece of material fromwhich the girdle can be readily constructed at the front.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing a lower portion orpiece which cooperates with the piece shown in Fig. 4 to give the girdlethe desired shape at the front.

Figure 6 is a plan showing the piece which completes the girdle at eachside, and through which the same may be connected to the shoulder strapsat the back.

In practicing the invention, I provide a pair of shoulder straps 1 whichare secured in some way at the back, such as at the point 2 (see Fig.2). These straps are preferably connected together at the point wherethey are secured. If desired, they may be secured to the waist band ofan underskirt, but I prefer to provide a waist band 3 which forms a partof the brassiere. This waist band is floating and unconnected to anyother part at the front of the body. and may be constructed in nysuitable way to enable it to be applied to the waist of the wearer, butI prefer to construct it as an endless elastic band or belt that extendscontinuously across the back. The shoulder straps 1 diverge from eachother from the anchorage oint 2 upwardly, and extend over the shoul ers4 so as to 've the shape at the back of a large V. The orward ends 5 ofthe shoulder straps 1 simply hang down over the shoulders at the front,and these ends 5 support the girdle or body 6 of the brassiere. Thisgirdle extends across the bosom and passes around to the back.

It is floating at the sides, that is, it is devoid of attachments andextends around to theback in a downward direction, and is attached tothe shoulder straps at the back near their point of attachment to thewaistband, as will now be described. In order to facilitate theadjustment of the brassiere to the body, one end of the girdle ispermanently secured to one of the straps l at the point 7 (see Fig. 2)and the other end of the girdle is provided with button holes 8 toreceive buttons 9 carried by the opposite shoulder strap; WVhile I haveillustrated button holes and buttons as used for making this connection,obviously snap fasteners or pins or any other desired means may beemployed for this purpose.

By attaching the ends of the girdle to the shoulder straps 1 near theirpoint of attachment 2 to the waistband 3, the rear portion of the girdlecan perform the function of holding the lower portions of the straps atthe back, displaced toward the side, away from a straight line joiningthe attaching point 2 and the shoulder. This is most advantageous as itinsures that the straps cannot be seen with a dress which is quite lowin the back and of V-form;

The girdle or body of the brassiere is prefarts or per erablyconstructed of an upper band 10 and a lower band 11, said bands being ofnarrow width at the middle in front and being of greater width towardthe sides. If desired, the upper band may be constructed of two ieces10" (see Fig. 4), and the ower ban may be constructed of two pieces- 11")see Fig. 5). In constructing the upand, two pieces shaped as the pieceare connected together at their edges 12 to form the upper part of afront seam 13 of the brassiere. Likewise the edges 14 of the pieces 11are connected together'soas to form the lower portion of this front seam13. The edges 15 and 16 of the pieces 10 and 11'- are then overlappedand secured together to produce a horizontal middle seam 17 whichextends across the front of the brassiere. By reason of the increasedwidth of the pieces 10" and 11 toward the sides, the brassiere will beiven the desired shape.

The e ges 18 and 19 of the pieces 10 and 11 are connected together inalignment and they are secured to an edge 20 of a back pie e 211,illustrated in Fig. 6. There are two of these back pieces 21, theforward ends of which are attached to the corresponding side or end ofthe girdle, and the complete the girdle by extending around to the backwhere they are attached to the shoulder straps, as already described. Ifdesired, the upper and lower edges of the irdle may be formed with hems22 which finish off and strengthen the ed es of the girdle.

e girdle of course may be constructed of any desired material, but it ispreferably constructed of a li ht material such as net. When net is usedor this purpose, the free end of the girdle, which is attached b meansof the buttons 9, is preferably provi ed with a reinforcing piece 23 oflight cloth or similar material.

When a-brassiere having these features of construction is worn, it doesnot restrict the movements of the body in any way, and by reason of thefact that the girdle is unconnected with the waist band 3 at the front,the wearer of the brassiere never experiences any pullin effect of theshoulder straps upon the shoul ers. Furthermore, the brassiere is leftopen between the shoulder straps 1 to a point near the waist band, whichenables the garment to be worn with a gown having quite a low cut in theback.

As indicated in Figure 2, the points of attachment of the irdle to theshoulder straps 1 are considerably above the waist band 3 toward the armpits and this has the effect of maintaining the shoulder straps well outtoward the points of the shoulders. This enables the brassiere to beworn with a lownecked dress without exposing the shoulder atra T eshoulder straps are preferably constructed of elastic material.

"at the front, and a girdle having relatively wide portions in linerespectively with the right and left breast, supported at the front onsaid shoulder-strap said girdle floating at the sides and exten ingtoward the back in a downward direction under the arms, terminating atthe back at the adjacent shoulder straps respectively and held in lacesolely by the shoulder-stra s at the ront, said gird e being secured tot e shoulder-straps at the back near theinpoint of attachment to thewaistband.

.2. A brassiere consisting of the combination of a pair of shoulder-stras disposed in the form of a large V at the back, a waistband in the formof an elastic belt fioat' and unconnected to any part at the front :ihdsides and extending continuously across the back and secured at thewaistline of the wearer to the shoulder-straps at the back, said strapsextending over and hanging from the shoulders at the front, a girdlehaving rela tively wide ortions in line respectively with the right andleft breast attached to the shoulder-straps at the front and held inplace at the front solely by the shoulder-straps, said girdle extendingaround to the back in a downward direction at the sides and terminatingat, and secured to, the shoulder-straps at the back and operating tohold each shoulder-strap displaced laterally outwardly and away from astraight line extending from the shoulder to the oint of attachment ofthe strap and waistband, said parts c0operating to leave an unobstructedV-shaped area on the wearers back extending from the wearers waistlineto the shoulders.

3. A brassiere consistin of the combination of a narrow waistban in theform of a belt extending around the waist and continuously across theback, said waistband being floating and unattached to any part at thefront and sides and confined at the back to the location of the wearerswaistline, a pair of shoulder-straps secured to the waistband adjacentthe middle of the waistband at the waistline ofthe wearer at the back,and forming a V so that said straps diverge from each other in an upwarddirection passing over and hanging from the shoulders at the front, anda girdle independent of, and unattached to, the waistband, floating atthe sides, attached to and supported at the front on the saidshoulder-straps and extending around to the back in a downward directionat the sides terminating at and secured to, the shoulder-straps at theback near their point of attachment to the waistband, said partscooperating to leave an unobstructed V-shaped area on the wearers backextending from the wearers waistline to the shoulders.

Signed at Los Angeles, California, this 14 day of May, 1926.

JEWEL CARMEN .WEST.

